oh, there's nothing to it. and i said, well, the fellow on the radio thought there was something -- [laughter] >> he said there's nothing to it. so, i said he must know what he's doing. he lives down there. .

said he was just finishing up, but h the cook said i have some leftover salmon salad and i could make you boys some sandwiches. we thought that was a good idea, and so we didn't vice president a lot of time. so he said i only had two salmon salad sandwiches. and i had a quart of milk with it, and we -- i would have had more but we didn't have time, so ted says "come on, we got to get going now." now it's about 4:00, so we go down and in those days they didn't have all the fancy docks, even around the family compound.

it was just kind of a beach, as i remember, and he said "we got to get in the boat." i said "ok," and i looked at the horizon looking for the boat. i said "where's the boat?" he said "there's the boat. " if any of you have seen the my a out front, that was -- not the mya, but the vitura. that's the boat he said we were going on a sailboat race with. it's 26 feet long. ted and i both weighed at the time over 200 pounds. we were both over 6 feet tall, and i said that's it? he said that's the boat. let's get it in the water. i did what i could to help get it in the water. there was huge waves now.

there was thunder. there was lightning. the sky was black. i could hardly get in the boat. it was bouncing so much, and he is at the, i guess, the till or something, and suddenly, suddenly i realized this friend of mine that i thought i knew quite well started screaming at me, shouting at me. i was terrified. after a while, i was more terrified of him than the storm, and i didn't know this man, and so he kept screaming at me that the spinnaker, the jib, port portside, secure that, you know,

whatever, and you know, ted is not always easy to understand when you know what he is talking about, and here was the incred credible roar of the ocean and the waves, and we're being bounced all over and it's my fault, and so i'mbjñ just hangig on for dear life and we'veml ony got about 200 miracle? yards ou, and i lost the sandwiches, and i thought i was going to die, and i have never been so miserable. hanging over the side of the boat and him screaming at me. i mean, do you think he said i'm sorry, do you feel bad? forget it! and so somehow, somehow i pulled myself together.

somehow we rode this boat in this incredible storm. i'm still scared thinking about it. we finally get all the way over to nantucket. it is 11:00 at night, and i'm saying to ted, well, which motel do we stay in? and ted said we're not staying in a motel. i said we aren't? we're all wet. we're all cold. where are we staying, teddy? we're staying in the boat. so, i mean, i realized then i was with something out of captain ahab, moby dick, so believe it or not, believe it or not, there were four cushions, and they were, of course, all wet and everything, but there were four cushions, and he took two. i wanted to take three, but he took two. i took two. there were three inches of

water, cold sea water, seaweed, everything. he pulled the boat down the beach and that's where we spent the night. well, this was a lot of fun so far, so the next day we got up and we needed a third man on our crew, ted said. i didn't have any idea what we needed. i needed a lot more than one more man, and so we go walking down to nantucket and sure enough there is this poor little guy who was a sawlsman at the andover shop in cambridge and ted went up to him and said would you like to go sailing with us today, and the poor kid said yeah, i'd like to. he shanghaied him. we took him. just like him, he took him and me and off to the races. from that point on, all i are

remember is ted yelling, yelling, yelling, about me to get up on the right side front of the boat or the left side and he always claims that when i was to rotate with the other little guy that i said you heard him, get up there, and of course, it was really my turn to go up, so anyway, somehow this race was mercifully over. i distance see anything except this cold water coming pouring on me, sunburned, t-shirt, i mean, it was a nightmare. i didn't even see any other boats, but we kept going around and around, so finally, finally, finally this thing was mercifully over, and ted seemed satisfied. i had no idea. probably i was satisfied. i lived through it, but i looked out and it was like a mirage. here is this great big yacht and its was the honey fits.

ted wanted to surprise me. we know how much fun ted has making his friends uncomfortable at times, but he hadn't told me but ambassador kennedy had come out to watch the race and had brought three or four of his friends along, and they were out there in the big honey fits, named after ted's grandfather. i never saw anything that looked so good to me, but he said now we're going to get aboard the boat and, you know, they're going to tow, tow the victura back behind the boat. i thought, my god, this is ok. so we come alongside the honey fits, and i remember, i just like eddie ricken daker in south pacific that had been out there on the boat starving to death in the water, cold, cold, miserable. i remember ambassador candy had

aç#ñ?÷ñ megaphone and he leaner v the boat and he sad good race, teddy, but i have got some bad news for you. the captain says the sea is far too rough to tow you boys back in that boat so you will have to sail back. i mean, i couldn't believe my ears. i wanted to jump out of the boat, take my chances they might pick me up, so anyway -- anyway, but he said i have something for you here in this container, hot clam chowder, hot, vacuum packed, with these clamp things on it and he is lowering it over a rope. teddy always claimed i grabbed it an ripped off the top without opening it, just tore the top, and then proceeded to chug a lug the whole canteen, about this much and the only thing i missed

was what went down my t-shirt and i said boy, that was good. teddy said what about me? i'm supposed to have some of that. i don't think it was entirely true that i drank all of it, but i drank most of it, so anyway they pull the rope up and we're on our own again. i've been 24 hours on this boat, and so now we head back home, i guess. well, fortunately, the trip back wasn't all that bad after what i had been through and it was fairly calm, but we now get within sight of highian nis after -- hyannis, after how many hours, and you can see the lights of the house about a half mile away. i'm hoping i'll be in a hot shower in no time. suddenly the boat just stopped, and the wind, and i said -- no wind. we weren't moving. i could see the house, but i didn't know how we were going to get there. it was too far to swim, and i

said, what do you do now? he said we get out of the boat. i said we get out of the boat? yeah, and one of us has to push and the other pull the rope ahead of the boat. you can't believe it, can you? i couldn't believe it. so after 24 hours on this boat, now it is, midnight, something, and we climb out of that boat into the water and he's pulling and i'm pushing and after a while, we finally make it to shore. well, we were back at summer school and it was a whole week before i could get the taste of seaweed out of my mouth but in the following years i was fortunately to take many, many sailboat trips with ted, not only around hyannis and the islands, but also to maine, also to the caribbean and also to the

greek islands, and those were some of the most memorable and truly enjoyable and pleasurable memories i could ever enjoy, always full of fun, always full of joy, and full of laughter and ted was awfully good about it. i never learned how to sail, but teddy always gave me a pass on those voyages and for that i'm always grateful and for those memories. smooth sailing, teddy. thank you. [applause]

>> if your sides are not to soar from laughter, the boston community chorus. ♪ ♪

♪ walk with me ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ i'm weak, but thou art strong jesus keep me from harm howi'll be satisfied as long as i will as i stand take my hand walk with me ♪ ♪ just a closer walk with me just a closer walk with me just a closer walk with me thank you, jesus

if you please ♪ ♪ daily walking close with me daily daily ♪ to this world of toils and snares if i falter lord, who can who with me my burning [unintelligible]

none but thee none but thee ♪ ♪ just a closer walk with me just a closer walk with me jsut a closer walk with me. thank you jesus, if you please thank you jesus, if you please twalking close with me walking close with me ♪ ♪

♪ when my people life is hard time, time for me on this earth is no more you know, if you trust in god he will try to save me oh, lord please lead me to the kingdom ♪ ♪ just a closer walk with me just a closer walk with me just a closer walk with me

thank you, jesus, if you please thank you, jesus, if you please walking close to me daily walking close to me. ♪ just a closer walk with me ♪ closer walk a closer walk ♪ lord, we want you by our side ♪ daily walking close with me.

daily walking close to thee. daily daily daily ♪ ♪ daily, daily daily, daily daily, daily ♪ ♪ lord, let it be [applause]

♪ daily, daily daily, daily ♪ ♪ [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming a good

friend of senator kennedy and of all of ours, the vice president of the united states unitedjoe biden -- the vice president of the united states, joe biden. [applause] >> thank you very much, paul. vicki, all the children, john used to regale us like that all the time. john has acted like teddy always took advantage of him. you should have seen it when they both came up on somebody else. i remember we were talking about angola wants. you were working out a deal with some of our more conservative friends. you agree on a particular course of action. along with your colleague, we

were in teddy's office. the night as i was as a young senator, we started about how we're going to approach this issue on the floor. teddy said, you've got to do this. i said, that's not what we said. we told these guys we reported that. teddy very politely said to me, no, it went on for a few minutes. john stood up and said, biden, what the hell do you think this is, state? -- boy state? i know we're all here to celebrate the life of an incredible man. but i want to say to the kennedy clan, i want to give thanks for

your father, thanks for your husband, thanks for your uncle, thanks for your brother. in an astonishingly and totally unexpected way, they're playing an important part in every part of my adult life. he crept into my heart, and before i knew it, he owned a piece of it. today, i was thinking about how teddy was -- i would not be standing here as it were not for teddy kennedy. i would not of been the president -- the vice president, i would not have been a senator. he was the catalyst for an

improbable winner of a 29 year- old kid running for the senate when the senator mcgovern only got 3435% to the vote in my state. i was running against a fellow who was extremely popular. the incumbent senator. it surprised the hell out of people. we can astonishingly close. we needed something else. out of the blue, literally, about eight days before the election, ted kennedy showed up. he showed up at a neighborhood we will refer to as little italy. he drew a crowd at a dinner of a couple thousand people. a community that would vote nationally for the democrats, but in all the statewide offices voted republican, including for the senate and house seats.

i ended up winning that neighborhood, winning the election by 3100 votes. although i don't know for certain, it seems highly unlikely congress would have ever been seen if your father had not been energizing people the way he did at the very end. he stood there and ended this speech by saying it, i only have one problem with joe biden. i think he is a little too young to be a senator. the next day, the wall street journal played it straight. kennedy says biden to youno you. when my wife and daughter were killed and my two boys were injured, i got a call from your

dad. i didn't know him too well. i just met him at one time. i was just an irish catholic kid from scranton pennsylvania who only thought of teddy kennedy and the entire kennedy family in sort of distant terms, hushed tones. here you was on the phone. -- here he was on the phone. he called me in the hospital almost every day. i turned around, literally, there is another specialist from boston, mass. sitting next to me. i did not ask for them, and i did not know i needed them. he was the prod that convinced

me to go to the senate, because i had told my governor after that election, that we're going to appoint someone else and i did not want to go to the senate. your brother came to see me and said i owed it to my deceased wife and children to be sworn in. and stay for at least six months. and when i got to the senate, he would literally come by once or twice a week to my office in the middle of the afternoon. i did not want to be there. i wanted to get the hell home. he took me aside and said -- and he would take me to the senate gym. this was the first time i met any of these players.

i got sworn in late. i'll never forget walking in and him introducing me to senators who were stark naked. i remember oh, my god, senator, how are you? [laughter] he sort of took on the role of being my older brother. he was just there all the time, and i never asked. i could never really understand, to tell you the truth. i did not understand why he was going out of his way for me. he got me on the committees that i ended up sharing -- chairing. he was sort of my tutor, exposing this kid to a world that i had never seen and did not fully understand i went home

every night as soon as the senate was out, and i never once accepted in the invitation, not out of desire to not be in washington, i just wanted to be home. he came to my office one afternoon and said, have to give you a piece of advice. @@@@@@@@$4@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ teddy was next to me, and paul

warnke, both arms controls experts. i was this 30-year-old kid and hairman had a way of trying to include everyone in the conversation. itç used to be the "salt" agreement, and it was complicated and all of a sudden, he looked at me and said, well, joe, what do the young people think about this? i didn't know what the hell to say, because i was scared to death and i didn't want to make a fool of me and here i was a united states senator. i reached over and picked an object up off the coffee table, and i was nervous and i was slipping it back and forth in my hands like this, as i answered the question, and i noticed everyone stiffened up when i was talking, and the butler came in and said time for dinner and everybody immediately got up and bolted for the dinner table, and your dad grabbed my arm and

said, god damn it, put that thing down! that cost more than your house! i was flipping a faberge egg in my house. so the sophisticated kid from delaware, it seemed like every single thing i did he was there. when my character was under attack, i sat with the committee and said maybe i shouldn't chair this committee until this gets settled and your father stood up and said no. you stay right where you are, and i said, well, let me explain, and he said my colleagues. he said we know you. you don't have to explain a single thing. we walked back into the conference room and into the hearing. you have no idea what that meant to me at that moment because my character had never been

questioned, and you know, i was sitting in wilmington, delaware after recuperating for six months from two cranial aneurysms and a major embolism and kind of feeling sorry for myself and all of a sudden up my old dusty driveway comes a cab and out jumps teddy kennedy, and he had a great big, turns out to be picture frame under his arm. it was about two and a half by three feet, and i was sitting by a pool when he walked over and he said where can i change? he had a bathing suit with him. he came back out and said, i want to give you this. he gave me this picture of a big irish stag. he said, come back. i need you. he sat there for six hours with

me. he called a cab, got back on the train, and went back. for 36 years, i had the privilege of going to work every morning with teddy kennedy. i had the privilege every day for 36 years to witness history. i had the privilege the last 20 of those years to sit next to him every single day. in the process, he had an incredible impact on me and everyone around him. he constantly renewed my faith and optimism. i never once saw your father with a defeatist attitude. i never saw him act in a small way. as a consequence, he made us all bigger. both his friends, his allies, and his foes.

his dignity, his lack of vitriol, his lack of pettiness forced some of the less generous members of our community to act bigger than they were. it was remarkable to watch. people say, and we all have our theories of why teddy was so successful as a legislator. one of them was people did not want to look small in front of him. even the people who were small. the astounding thing to me after 36 years of having a consequence -- my mother would say, living longer. i have gone to meet almost every major political figure in the world. that is not hyperbole.

and your father was one of the few who i ever met, at the end of the day, it was never about him. it was always about you. a truly remarkable character trait. when i got down to the end -- when it got down to the end, for some many others, it was about them. for teddy, it was never ever about him. the interesting thing to me is that i think the legacy of teddy kennedy -- it might be presumptuous of me to say this, but i think the legacy of teddy kennedy can be measured in no small part as a consequence of how we in america look at one another. how blacks look at whites, how

gays looked straight, house traits lookit days. -- house streets look at today's -- how straights look at gays. and how we look at ourselves. when you were with him, you had to measure yourself against him. it always requires you to be larger than you were inclined to be. his death was not unlike his life. as we all know. overcoming pain and loss with a sense of dignity and pride that is amazing. he met his death in the same grave, generous terms that he lived his life. they could've been thinking about your father when he wrote, the will the fis fear when duty

throws the gauntlet down the fate, when scorn compromises with death. this is heroism. your father was a historic figure. he was a heroic figure beyond that. i will remember and celebrate his life every single time i see a young, adolescent kids coping rather than cowering about having to make a decision about his sexuality. i will celebrate your father ever single time i see my granddaughter stand up to those boys and smack something over the second baseman's head. i will think of your father every time a woman stands up and demands, and is granted, exactly

what she is entitled to. i will think of your father every time i will see an individual walk out of recovery and start a new life. the key, -- vicki, i will recall you every time i think of christopher marlowe who said, come with -- come live with me, be my love, and all present -- pleasures prove. that is exactly what the two of you did. everyone can see it. the pundits are writing, and they mean well by it, that this is the end of an era. that this is the end of the kennedy era. but i watched at guinness's funeral -- at eunice's funeral, and i invite everyone to look

around today. take a look at this incredible family. [applause] i mean it. take a look. take a look at this generation of kennedys. it possesses more talent, more commitment, more grit, more grace than any family i have ever seen. so when they say that this is the end of the kennedy era, i want you to know that i realize your parents collectively left america lot more than is great library. a lot more than landmark legislation. a lot more than inspirational leadership. they left us you.

as your pop would say, it is because of you that the dream still lives. thank you for the honor of allowing me to be with you. [applause] >> our final speaker is senator kennedy's lebanese -- loving niece. i have had the privilege of introducing her many times. i am pleased to do it.

the president of the foundation, caroline kennedy. [applause] . to kara and caroline for making him so proud, bringing him so much joy, and to jean, i know you have lost your soul mate because you and teddy lived each other's lives for your entire lives an all your nieces and nephews are here to help you as best we can. welcome to this library that teddy built and brought to life with his spirit and dedication to public service.

as many of you know, over the last few years, or, really for most of my semiadult life, one of my part-time jobs has been introducing teddy to crowds of people who already knew him incredibly well. although this process was unbelieve bhi stressful for me, it was just another one of the gifts that he gave me. when he saw that i was nervous, he would give me a pat on the back. when he knew i was sad he would call up and say i have a great idea. there is a convention coming up and maybe you would like to introduce me. off i would go on another adventure in public speaking. no matter how nervous i was, i always knew when i stepped down from the podium i would get a big kiss and hear him whisper "now i'm going to get you back." i can't believe that's not going to happen tonight. the other night after vicky

called, it was a beautiful summer night. the moon had set. there was no wind. the sea was calm and the stars were out. i hooked up and there was this one star hanging low in the sky that was just bigger than all the rest an brighter than all the rest, with a twinkle and a sparkle louder than all the others. i know it was jupiter but it was acting a lot like teddy. his colleagues as book about his work and the joy he took in helping others, his thoughtfulness and compassion, and his commitment to t ideals of peace and justice that his brothers gave his allies for and that he fought for his entire career. we were lucky to see the passion, self discipline, and generosity of heart every single day. he had a special relationship with each 28 nieces and

nephews, and 60 people but called him great uncle teddy. here is there for every baptism in school trip to@@@@@@jr,@ @ár and he knew when we were having a tough time and would show up and say it is time to go sailing. he convinced us we could ace the next test, win the next race, whether it was sailing and politics and it was ok if we didn't, as long as we tried our best. he did it by letting us know that he believed in us, so we should believe in ourselves. he taught by example and love. he showed us how to keep going no matter how hard things were, to love each other, no matter how mad we got and keep working for what we believe in. just did it himself. we learned through his example. although sometimes it was overshadowed by his other guests, he was a creative

spirit. he loved painting and singing in the natural world. he was always looking for new ways to bring people together to make a better world, to get things done. he was always doing things that other people could have done, but he was somehow the one that did it. this is true in the senate as we heard tonight, as it is in our family. i thought i would tell you a little bit about when the best known examples, the creation of the annual family history trip. this is an historical sites is something anyone can do, but he made into something special. he realize that a family reunion was wasted if it was just a cookout, so he may get a chance to learn and share the love history thahe got from his mother. in my trout, the stress or relatively simple affairs. -- in my childhood, and these were relatively simple affairs. we went to where dollar bills

were printed in the studio where the statute abraham lincoln was painted. no visit was complete without his recitation of the midnight ride of paul revere. when i was young, i thought he was just entertaining guests, but as i grew up, i realized he was passing down his belief that each of us has a chance to change the course of history. teddy lived for the future. we love the past. when a new generation came along, in typical teddy style, he decided to take it to a new level. he wanted us all to share the love of being together, the passion for history, and to learn about the sacrifices upon which this country was built so that we would understand our own opportunity and obligations. he took this on with enthusiasm. it was held by the extraordinary

team better off here tonight and will be working for him for ever. [applause] jedi eliminated the world around him and brought the past to life. -- teddy illuminated the world around him and brought the past to life. we visited the monument of washington by night and not vernon by boat. we walked to the civil war battlefields and gettysburg. in richmond with salt iron works and the church that patrick kenny -- henry made his speech. we walked across the brooklyn bridge and learned about the battle of long island. the culmination of this tradition with our trip to boston. we took a ride and learned about the building of the cape cod

canal. we went to plymouth rock. when we got here, we visited the uss constitution. paul reveres house, the old north church, the house where grandma was born, and the spot where the irish immigrants came ashore. we toured the committee -- kennedy library. the history trips were day trip only. he had a surprise for us. we are going to get the chance to camp out on the island. he did not tell us that for most of the year, it is used for a juvenile detention -- [laughter] until after we had set up our tents in the dirt. the bugs were out. the planes from logan were taking off and landing over our head. [laughter] figured you is trying to teach us something. after a 16 hour history day, we

were not sure what it was. that was one teddy decided that even he had had enough of history, finally, and is not out under the cover of darkness on is to get to a boat in fetid home. -- and headed home. [laughter] he had it all figured out. yesterday we drove the same route. i thought about all the kids he gave us an incredible journey he taught. i thought about how lucky i enter a traveled some of that journey with him -- i am to have traveled some of that journey with him. i thought about how he touched so many hearts and did so many things that only he could have done. i thought about all the things he did that we all could do, but we just figured he would do them instead. as he drove through the boston that he loved and all the thousands of people who loved him back, i realized that it was our final history trip together.

now he has become a part of history. we have become the ones that have to do all the things that he would have done for us, each other, and for our country. [applause] >> in no celebration could close it it is an honor a senator kennedy without a song, as he has close on many times. oftentimes closing with a song

about his heritage. tonight, when irish eyes are smiling, we have the pleasure to have two irish tenors lead us in that song. khalid sheikh mohammed wilkinso colm wilkinson.

♪

there is a tear in your eye and i'm wondering why. it never should be there at all. with such power in your smile sure a stone he would be guile, so there is never a teardrop at all, when your sweet lilting laughter is the like some very sound, and your eyes twinkle bright as can be you should laugh all the while and all other times smile,

and now, a smile for me -- and now, a small for me when irish eyes are smiling sure, it is like the morning of a sprained you -- in the lilt of irish laughter you can hear the angel same when irish eyes are smiling -- happy all the smiling, a share, a steal your heart away. ♪ for your smile is a parof the love in your heart and did make

even sunshine more bright. the lynn sweet song, kerning all the day long, there is never a real care every grant wellspring time -- and wellspring time is through this -- let us smile each a chance we get. when irish eyes are smiling, sure it is like the mourn this spring. in the lilt of irish laughter you can hear the angels sing. when irish parts are happy, all

the world seems bright and gay, and when irish eyes are smiling, sure they still your heart away. ♪ when irish eyes are smiling, you can hear you can hear the angels sing when irish eyes are happy, all the world is bright an gay and when irish eyes are smiling

you will give your heart away irish eyes are smiling you can hear the irish laughter you can hear the angels sing when irish eyes are happy all the world is bright an gay and when irish eyes are smiling you'll give your heart away ♪ [applause]

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] .